Improvement in looms



4 Sheets Sheet 1.

H. D. DAVIS.

LOOMS. No.179,166. Patented. June 27,1876.

Wflzzcne: In z/mior Esq/ 2 222M,

NPETERS, FHDTO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON- D C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. D. DAVIS.

LDOMS.

Patented. June 27-, 1876.

N.PETERS. PNO

TO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON D C 4 SheetsSheet 3.

H. D. nAvis.

LOOMS.

Patentd J'un'e27,1876.

In Vniar MPEIERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D 04 4- SheetsSheet4,

H. n. DAVIS.

' LOOMS. I No, 179,166, Patented June 27, 1876.

N. PETERS, FNOTO-LITNOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, n. c

UNrrE STATES PATENT Grrrort.

HILAS D. DAVIS, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSAOHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE L. DAVIS, JOHN A. WILEY, JOSEPH M. STONE, GEORGE G. DAVIS, JOSEPH H. STONE, AND JAMES H. DAVIS, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOOMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 179,166, dated June 27, 1876; application filed December 27, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

4 Be it known that I, .HILAS D. DAVIS, of North Andover, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Looms, of which the following is a specification:

My improvements relate, mainly, to modifications in the construction of the machinery of fancy-looms, so-called, by which its operation is much improved.

The first part of my improvements relates to the method of locking and unlocking the jacks which work the heddles, from their lifter and depressor under the control of a patternchain, by a positive motion, which is not derived from the pattern-chain; and consists in combining with the latches which connect the jacks with thelifter and depressor a separate mechanism for operating the latches, which is actuated at a different time from that of either the jacks or the pattern-chain, by which arrangement the appropriate functions of each part are much more independent of the others than by the former modes of operation, where the locking and unlocking of the jacks are directly produced by the action of the pattern -chain itself; and it also consists in a certain means of constructing the mechanism which works the litter and depressor, whereby the shed is held open for a greater proportion of the time than is usual, so as to give greater time to throw the shuttle, which will be described.

The second partof my improvements relates to a peculiar manner of arranging the frictional devices for holding the star-cams at rest, which will be described.

The third part of my improvements relates to the mechanism for operatingthe patternchains, which severally control the movements of the heddles and the shuttle-boxes, and the parts which co-operate with them; and consists in the employment of a separate chain for each purpose, and operating both chains from one driving mechanism, with a clutch or other suitable means of disengagement interposed between the chains, so that they may be moved separately to adjust them'to their proper relations, respectively, in the work.

The fourth part of my improvements relates to the manner of combining and arranging the pattern-chain with the levers and pawls which work the shuttle-box mechanism. It is the usual practice to work the patternlevers in looms by causing them to be raised by the bolls on the pattern-chain, and with them the pawls which work the ratchets, by which movement they are disengaged from their ratchets, and they are operated in the contrary direction to put them in engagement with their ratchets by their gravity. But with such a mode of operation it has been found that the engagement and disengagement of the driving-pawls are not always made with sufiicient certainty, for the reason that the pattern-lever, being held to the bolls ot'the chain by its weight only, does not operate quickly enough, and, also, that the pawls, when dropped onto their respective ratchets, are liable to rebound and fail to engage with the tooth, causing a mispick. For these reasons the pattern-levers in this case are held to the bolls of the chain by springs, which also hold the palls away from their ratchets, and the boll of the chain acts to put the pawl into engagement with its ratchet instead of lifting it out of engagement, as is usual, and the pawl is connected with its lever by a light rod or wire which holds the pawl lightly to its ratchet with a yielding pressure, and, therefore, only so many bolls are required in the pattern-chain as there are changes to be made in the shuttles, which very much simplifies and cheapens the construction of the pattern-chain; and it also consists in certain modifications in the details of the mechanism, which will be more particularly described.

In the drawings, only those parts of a fancy loom are represented to which my ments moreparticularly relate.

Figure l is a front elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation of that end of the loom at which the mechanisms for operating the harness and the shuttleboxes are placed; and Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are detailed views of some of the parts which will be referred to in the description.

A represents the frame of the loom; B, the breast-beam; O, the lay-shaft; D, the camshaft; E E, the harness-shezwes, all constructed in the usual way. F F, &c., are the jacks to which the harness-cords are attached, as usual. G G are the lifter and depressor. H

impro ve- H are the latches which lock the jacks to them, and I I, &c., are the T-slides which work the latches in and out. The general construction of this part of the harness mechanism is substantially like that shown in the patent granted to me No. 151,961, excepting that in that mechanism the latches were moved in and out directly by the pattern-chain,while in this case the latches are worked by devices which have an action independent of the pattern-chain, but yet under its control. The means by which this is done are shown more clearly in Figs. 1, 3, and 7. To each of the T-slides 1 which work the latches there is jointed a lockingjack, 1 which is provided with reversed books, as shown, which work in connection with the two drivers J and J, which have simultaneous horizontal reciprocating movements in opposite directions, by means of the lever K, and the bent lever K and red X, and spring K from the lever L, which is worked by the cam M upon the layshaft 0, or by some other equivalent means which will give the same movement to the drivers J and J The drivers J andJ are at-v tached to the slide-rods J which work in suitable bearings in the frame, as is shown. The cam M is of such form and is so located upon its shaft that the working faces of the driversare moved quickly toward each other to engage and disengage the latches at the same time that the lifter and depressor are nearest together and the shed is closed, at which time the heddles are redistributed preparatory to opening the next shed. By this means almost the entire duration of each pick can be given to the opening of the shed and the movement of the pattern-chain, which is thus left free of the latches, excepting during the short time that they are making their engagement with and disengagement from the jacks. The locking-jacks 1, which are jointed to the T-slides I, rest upon the pattern-chain N, and are raised and lowered by its bolls, so that its hooks will engage either with the upper or lower driver J or J, so as to lock the jacks F either with the lifter G or depressor G as the pattern-chain shall direct. In the mechanism shown the work imposed upon this patternchain N is so light that only a common single-acting chain is deemed'necessary. This chain is driven by an upright shaft, t, by a pair of bevel-gears, as is shown, from the horizontal shaft P, which also carries the pattern-chain O, which controls the movements of the shuttle-boxes, and will be hereafter referred to.

The lifter and depressor G G work in suitable guides in the framing, as shown, by means of the rocking-shaft G and the connecting-rods G G and G from the crank R upon the outer end of the lay-shaft. crank R has a very short connecting-rod, R, which works upon a wrist, S, of the idle lever S, and from this wrist the rocking-shaft Gr is driven by the reel-jointed connecting-rod G as is shown. By this arrangement of the rod This R the upper half of the movement imparted by the crank R occupies a considerably longer time than thelowerhalf, which allows a greater part of the time for holding open the shed, and the use of the idle-lever S to carry and guide the wrist VS gives great simplicity and firmness of construction. T T are the shuttlebox levers, the shuttle-boxes and lay not being shown. Each ofv these levers oscillates upon a fulcrum at T and the end toward the boxes is provided with the safety apparatus described in my Letters Patent No. 141,262, which need not be described. The back end of the lever T is provided with a roller, 1, which works on the face of the cam U. The fulcrum T of each lever is fixed in the outer end of a short lever, T, which also oscillates upon an axis, T, which is fixed in the frame, and the opposite end of this lever is also provided with a roller, t, which works upon the face of the cam U which is similar to the cam U This is seen most clearly in Figs. 3, 4;, and 6. V V V V are ratchets, one for each cam U U U U, each made with twice as many notches as there are projections to the cams, and they are each worked by a pawl, X X X X, all of which are jointed in the same axial line to the pendent lever X, which hangs upon the frame, as shown. This lever is vibrated by means of the cam Y upon the cam-shaft D, and the spring Y, which is coiled around the hub of the lever X, which holds the lever against the cam Yin an obvious, manner. U is a shaft which extends across the loom, upon which the cams and ratchets and holding devices which operate the shuttleboxes are mounted, and V is a hollow shaft which incloses the shaft U, and serves to connect the ratchet V with the cam U upon the opposite side of the loom. The ratchet V is fixed upon the shaft U, upon which is also fixed the cam U upon the opposite side of the loom. By this means all the drivingratchets are brought together upon one side of the loom, and. at the same time the mechanisms which work the two shuttle-boxes can be operated independently of each other. W Ware two circular disks or plates placed between the two pairs of cams U U and U U loosely surrounding the shaft U. Each of these disks has an arm projecting outward, which enters a groove in the hanger W, as is shown more clearly in Fig. 5, to prevent the disks from revolving with the cams. Between these disks and the said cams are interposed leather washers to produce sufficient friction upon the said cams to hold them at rest when not moved by the said ratchets. The other contact-surfaces of the cams and ratchets also produce further friction, which co-operates with the other. I

The whole system of parts which are mounted upon the shaft U are pressedtogether axially by the hangers W W and the set-screws ww and w. The washer m, which comes against the cam U is also provided with an arm which extends to the groove in the hanger W which prevents it from turning. This washer is made with a recess to receive a block of rubber,y, to act asa spring to hold the frictional surfaces together with an elastic pressure.

The mode of operation of the mechanisms in moving the shuttle-boxes is this: The elevation upon the cams U and U is sufficient to raise or lower the shuttle-boxes, which are attached to the opposite end of the levers T, one grade, and this lever has its fulcrum T at the end of the short lever T the opposite end of which works upon the cam U or U the elevations of which are suflicient, through the leverage of the lever T, to move the boxes the distance of two grades; so that, by the joint and differential action of the two cams, each of the four boxes of the set can be brought into action from any position, in a manner well understood in the trade.

The action of the several pawls X X X X is controlled by the pattern chain 0, which is worked in the usual manner by the shaft P, which works in suitable bearings, as shown, at the upper part of the frame. This shaft l is turned intermittently by the ratchet Q and pawl Q which receive a reciprocating motion, through the rod Q from the crank Q on the outer end of the cam-shaft D, in an obvious manner.

' Above the pattern-chain O are arranged a series of pattern-levers, a a a a, the longer end of each of which is provided with an adjustable eyi-bolt, b, to each of which one of the pawls X is attached by means of a small rod or wire, 0 c, 850. Each of the eyebolts b is surrrounded by a spiral spring, (I, which is strong enough to raise its pawl X and hold it away from its ratchet, and also to hold the short end of the lever a down upon the pattern-chain. By this arrangement the pawl X is directly thrown into engagement with its ratchet by the bolls of the pattern-chain, instead of being raised from the ratchet by them, as is usual, and, therefore, no more bolls are required to be used in the pattern-chain than there are changes of the boxes to be made; and, as there is some yielding rigidity to the wires or rods 0, the pawls are slightly forced upon the faces of the ratchets V, and thereby prevented from rebounding and missing the proper tooth, so as to cause a mispick. This mode of operation is deemed of much importance in working the loom rapidly, which is a controlling purpose in the design of this loom. The shaft P is provided with a bevel-gear, f, which turns loosely upon it, but is made fast to it, when occasion requires, by the clutch g, which is fixed to the shaft.

The horns of the clutch g are made on a separate piece and slide through groovesin the fixed hub g, and take into suitable notches in the hub of the gearf, so that by drawing the horns of the piece 9 back out of the hub g, and slightly turning it, the pawls are held disconnected. The clutch is held in gear by the spring h, which is coiled around the shaft P,

and forces the piece 9 toward the gear f. This is shown more clearly in Fig. 8. By means of this clutchthe two pattern-chains are discounected, so that they can be moved separately for the purposes of their separate adjustment to the work, and again connected, so that both shall be driven by the same driving mechanism. j is a detent for holding the chains at rest in the proper positions, which is provided with a springholder and handle, is, as shown, for convenience of the operator in holding the detent out of action in turning the patternbarrel by hand.

The operation of this mechanism is believed to be sufficiently obvious to any person skilled in the construction or use of a fancyloom without further explanation.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. The method ot'engaging and disengaging the jacks which work the heddles from the mechanism that operates them, under the control of a pattern-chain or its equivalent, by means of devices which have a positive motion which is separate from that of the pattern-chain, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the latches which engage and disengage thejack with and from the lifter and depressor, which actuate it and the selecting mechanism, of a separate mechanism for operating the said latches, as described, which has a movement independent of the movements of either the pattern-chain or of the main jacks, substantially as described.

The combination of the crank R, short connecting-rod It, wrist S, and idle lever S, and reel-jointed rod G with the rocking shaft G which operates thelifter and depressor, as a device for imparting a variable movement to the lifter and depressor, substantially as described.

4. The stationary frictional disks W W, in combination with the frictional surfaces of the cams U, and the means, substantially as described, for applying pressure to said frictional surfaces in an axial direction, and the frame provided with the recesses for holding the disks for turning, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the pattern-chain that controls the heddles and the patternchain that controls the shuttle-boxes with one driving mechanism and a clutch adapted to disconnect the two chains from each other, whereby they may be moved separately to adjust them to their work, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the pawl which works the ratchet of the shuttle-box mechanism, the

spring which raises the pawl from the ratchet, the link or connection, and the pattern-lever which works upon the pattern-chain, substantially as described.

Executed December 11, 1875. Witnesses: HILAS D. DAVIS.

WM. P. EDWARDS, E. A. HEMMENWAY. 

